'Steel glove' surgery halves deaths

London doctors have developed a revolutionary type of "steel glove" surgery to treat patients at risk of internal bleeding.

The procedure has more than halved death rates from burst blood vessels - the third biggest killer of men over 60.

The technique, revealed today at Guys and St Thomas' hospital, means patients can be treated through tiny holes in the groin under local anaesthetic instead of full surgery. It is designed to prevent abdominal aortic aneurysms, where part of the main artery explodes and blood pressure plunges.

Half of patients die before reaching hospital and 50 per cent of those admitted do not survive. But mortality rates at Guys and St Thomas' 24-hour vascular surgery unit are under 10 per cent. Its doctors insert a sleeve into the artery. The sleeve is fitted with steel wires which stiffen when heated to body temperature, stemming blood loss and protecting the artery wall.